witches

witches are born with their magic (typically inherited through their families, but it is not unheard of for a witch to be born into a non-magical family, or for magic to skip a generation or two). all witches have a general, baseline magical skill in spellcraft and potions, but then also have a specialty - a bit like having a major at university - such as binding and protection magic, nature magic, or divination (among many others, have fun with it!). it is possible for witches to have a dual specialty, but they are spreading their skills thin in this case. some witches choose to attend schools that focus on magical education - there are plenty such schools throughout the world - but it is not uncommon for witches to receive more of a home schooled instruction from family or coven members.

warlocks

warlocks received their powers by entering a pact with a summoned spirit, so while their skills are slightly more limited by what that spirit is willing to teach them it does mean they can have a general knowledge of more areas than a witch would (think of dnd for this, in that while they may have more specialized areas, the effect wouldn't be quite as strong as a witch with the same specialty would be). warlocks are welcome at magical universities and institutions - some see it as a good way to hone their skills - but generally speaking, most are satisfied to learn only from the entity they've entered into a pact with.

magic

magic users do not need to hide their abilities, and have not had to since the magical community revealed themselves in 1922. there are towns scattered all over that tend to be primarily (if not all) magic users - much like tippering - but witches and warlocks can live alongside humans just fine should they choose. magical doorways exist in a number of 'hot spots' (i.e. towns with a large concentration of magic users) that allow witches and warlocks to quickly travel between locations. most of these were originally created centuries ago when magic users were required to hide and needed to easily move between safe houses, and as such are warded against humans being able to access them. while warlocks are a welcome member of the magical community, some witches with more old-fashioned and conservative values may be snobbish or exclusionary towards them - this is largely seen as prejudicial by the community at large.

please note

magic we are not allowing includes: non-magical or non-human residents, necromancy / death magic, time travel (no butterfly effects here!), blood magic, and mind control. we're wanting to steer away from anything that is too dark (our inspirations for this community included studio ghibli films like kiki's delivery service and howl's moving castle, the small town vibes of stars hollow, masterpiece theatre series, practical magic, and the general feeling of watching the harry potter movies at christmas before we knew jk was a transphobe; so, we're leaning into the whimsy of it all!). while we will be dealing with community wide events that might include solving a murder mystery for an agatha christie experience, we want to steer away from that sort of magic utilized by in-game characters. on the other hand, there's so many things we would love to see! there are a lot of magical varieties that are totally allowed and encouraged. maybe not raising the dead but mediums to handle the ghosts about town or have a grandmother who critiques every single thing they do in kitchen, telekinesis by way of matilda (another formative text), portal magic could be drawing a door in chalk and knocking politely - we want warm, whimsical, and a little weird. while characters can absolutely have the same magic, we encourage people to find new outlets and ways to make it even more specifically tailored to their character. if you're unsure about whether something will fit, please reach out before applying!